which they argue will keep them and their students safe. plus -- >> we have made it through this really very large surge of cases. >> loosening covid rules as cases decline. one bay area city already planning to reign in its guidelines. when and where you may be able to ditch the mask. >> and president biden following through on his campaign promise. he's pledging his pick to replace justice stephen breyer will be a black woman. experts are tackling the significance of this history-making move. this is "today in the bay." here we go, friday morning. and a thank you for making us a part of your morning. >> i'm marcus washington. >> and i'm laura garcia. if you're on the go, we broadcast not only to television, but you can watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv, online. we have a lot to get to this friday morning, but we're not

forgetting what's going on this weekend. the 9ers getting in a final practice before the big game on sunday. we've got full coverage coming up all morning long. >> including one 9ers super fan who got an opportunity to make custom cleats for one of the players. you can hear his story at 6:15. first, we want to get you started with a look at the friday forecast. meteorologist vianey arana in for kari. >> it's clear and cold, marcus, to start. right now it's about 45 degrees in san francisco. this is one of our warmer spots. in other areas we are waking up, once again, to the 30s. you can see coit tower lit up for the san francisco 49ers. now, your temperature trend by about 10:00, 11:00, will bump up into the upper 50s and in san francisco throughout the entire bay area we are expecting to be in the low to mid-60s, maybe a couple of upper 60s for the interior valleys. i'll guide you through the highs coming up in my full forecast.

>> thank you so much. happening today, parents in oakland, teachers should get a better idea which schools are on the chopping block. the district says it's considering closing 13 schools, due in part to budget deficit of more than $40 million. covid relief funding did help postpone some closures, but that's close to running out. parents and staff will be notified today. the school board will receive the proposal monday. they're set to vote on the plan february 8th. the covid crisis inching closer to impacting classrooms in another bay area school district, the clock ticking down for a strike that vote. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez is live to explain what the teachers are asking for and the families that may soon feel the impact. kris? >> reporter: right. when teachers don't show up to work, certainly families have to figure out what to do with the kids who are not headed to school. and we've certainly heard these demands before, we heard them from oakland teachers. they managed to work things out

with their district. now west contra costa teachers say they may be willing to walk off the job. here is what their union, the united teachers of richmond are demanding, they want high-quality masks for everybody on campus. they also want weekly testing for everyone, and in classrooms where there have been positive cases, they want twice-weekly testing. earlier this month the district did close for two days for deep cleaning of their campuses, but now weeks later, the majority of the district's 1,500 teachers, nurses and staff say they are willing to walk off the job. while the union and district have been negotiating, today is the final deadline. the east bay times obtained a letter from the district superintendent to the school community which reads in part, employees coordinating with one another to call in sick is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. this type of action is not helpful and exacerbates our current staff issues. now, earlier this month about one-third of all of the students

in that district were out either sick with covid or they were quarantined because of a close contact. as of earlier this week, the district dashboard reflects there are 35 cases among students and three cases amongst staff. so the picture there seems to be improving, however those demands still by the teachers have to be met or they say they're going to walk off the job. marcus and laura. >> thanks, kris. on the brighter side of the covid conversations, thanks to declining cases, san francisco is about to dial back its masking rules. beginning next tuesday, masks will no longer be required in offices, gyms, religious gatherings, as well as college classrooms. but that's only if everyone is vaccinated, boosted and those gatherings are fewer than 100 people. religious and medical vaccine exemptions will be allowed for places like restaurants and bars. people will then need a recent negative covid test to enter.

businesses welcoming this change. >> we are actually going to give people a five-day grace period to go get boosted, that includes employees, as well as our clients. then there's a mandated wait period after you get boosted of about a week. after that's done, we're going to remove the mask mandate. >> other bay area counties say they're following the state's guidance. current masking rules are set to expire on february 15th. president biden opening the door for history, indicating he will nominate a black woman for the u.s. supreme court. biden making the announcement on the heels of justice stephen breyer confirming plans to retire yesterday. retired bay area superior court judge ladoris cordell believes this is long overdue. >> when you look at the issues that impact the african american community, not exclusively, but in large measure, we're talking abortion, health care, voting rights, and it goes on and on, that have a disproportionate

impact on the african american community, it's about time that there is that representation on the court. >> the president's short list includes detan gee brown jackson and leondra kruger and michelle childs. if you want to know more about state supreme court justice kruger or the other judges, head to nbcbayarea.com or our nbc bay area app. just click on supreme court at the top of the page. breaking news this morning, right now out of pittsburgh, pennsylvania, that's where there's been a bridge collapse. the city's mayor there says that a bus went over the bridge, you can see a picture here that we have for you. three people on board were hurt and all are expected to be okay. now, first responders are still at the scene right now, but apparently there are no fatalities. want to give you a live look at that site this morning. the mayor says the crash caused

a gas leak. the gas is now turned off and all comes with president biden set to visit the city today to talk about his infrastructure plan. 6:06 this morning. coit tower, lit up for the 49ers for that big game this weekend. let's go 49ers. oh, yes, and let's go with a good forecast in the bay area. meteorologist vianey arana, of course, has been tracking what we can expect weather-wise. i've been looking at your forecast and it's looking good. >> it is. we've got 70s down in l.a. for those of you heading to the game. we've got upper 60s in the bay area this weekend as warm weather really dominates with the high pressure into the weekend, a high of 67 in san jose. take a look at that, morgan hill 68 degrees, nearing the 70s in the south bay today. so we'll definitely keep a close eye on that. very summer-like. 65 in danville, 63 in concord.

san mateo 64, redwood city, if you're heading to the city, mid-60s. i'll take you through the remainder of the outlook in a few minutes. first, let's check in with mike. >> we are looking at a slower drive through san jose. a couple of factors combined to make it just a bad situation. north 101 up to mckee, construction was clearing at the same time we saw the big build happening. traffic sorting itself out, the typical pattern through silicon valley. a disabled vehicle near the san mateo bridge toll plaza is blocking one lane, not causing a slowdown. use caution if you're heading to hayward from the peninsula. an easy drive with mild slowing just showing up for the westbound highway and the bay bridge toll plaza has light traffic right now. no metering lights and a clear view. back to you. >> does look good.

thanks. coming up this morning, unlocking your phone while wearing a mask is hard for a lot of people. two years into the pandemic, a new feature may be coming soon for apple users. we're going to explain that and how it works. >> more good economic news. it looks like prices are steady, while wages are going up. let's take you out to the futures. no big losses expected on wall street as well. >> plus, one 9ers fan making his presence known on the field. we'll explain how he's helping a team member put his best foot forward.

tahoe report. pal sides, alpine, we've got 55 groomed trails, 120 trails with 20 lifts. make sure to check ahead for covid-19 guidelines at any of the local ski sites, but it's going to be a beautiful weekend for skiing. right now we've got over 102 inches. i'll have a closer look at your local forecast coming up. >> and the high-rise for the san mateo bridge is moving smoothly. the headlights coming off the high-rise into hayward, a disabled vehicle cleared at the toll plaza itself. we're going to talk about an issue that may affect you for the north bay coming up. >> reporter: good morning. very happy friday to you as well. if you like good economic news,

i've got some. americans are getting a lot of raises. the latest data from the labor department shows wages jumped 4% year-over-year in the last quarter measured. wages have been going up for months. a different report says inflation metric closely watched by the fed, is personal consumption index, also rose. i said earlier steadily. it's steadily up, 5.8%. and you can see the problem here that's developed. we're trying to deal with all this inflation, we're asking for raises, it's one way a family can deal with inflation. but then, of course, the higher labor costs also causes inflation. higher pay is both partly the cause of and the solution to all of our problems. well, on thursday we got the latest gdp numbers, showing when you combine all the goods and services america creates, basically the combination of everything we do together as a county, our output jumped 6.9%

for the year, which is a huge number. the white house was quick to jump on that pointing out, correctly, that president biden's first year in office was the strongest year for economic growth since 1984. now, that is true, but the bar was pretty low. the pandemic had depressed economic outlook, so recovering from it creates record growth, and the same goes for jobs. more jobs under biden than any president in recent history, but then, again, you're coming from a pandemic low. either way, though, things are getting better despite inflation. the irony or the frustration for the white house, though, is that most americans don't see it. we have more jobs than people are willing to take, wages are way up, but a gallop survey found only 29% of americans said the economy was getting better, 67% believed it was getting worse. now, it's not, but that's what people believe. one more survey for you, and i thought this was really

interesting. economists in san francisco's gusto checked in with 1,000 american small businesses. they found businesses that require their employees to get vaccinated have an easier time filling open positions than companies that don't have a vaccination requirement. >> those that did saw fewer sick days and more trust from their employees and that's a signal from companies to employees saying that we care about you, we care about your safety, and we want to create an environment where you feel protected. >> reporter: now, you would think it would be the opposite, that the more hurdles you put up in front of the hiring process, the harder it would be to get an employee. either way, the people who are having an easy time of it are having a 31% missing employee rate, which is astonishing. companies just cannot fill any of these jobs. >> it's really amazing how many are out there. >> across the board.

thanks, scott. we've all had to make a lot of adjustments because of the pandemic and apple is testing out a new feature that will let you use the face i.d. to unlock your phone when you're wearing a mask without needing an apple watch to act as a key. the feature could be included in the next update to ios 15. the iphone would be able to recognize the user's features around the eyes to authenticate. it will only work with newer phones and you'll have to switch on the option manually. so we keep talking about our san francisco 49ers. they're going head-to-head with the rams on sunday or a spot in the super bowl. this morning we're talking feet as we're counting down to the kickoff. >> let's just say, if the shoe fits, wear it, right? one 9ers super fan in sacramento recently got a chance to make custom cleats for defense tackle eric armstead. 20-year-old kevin grey designed those kicks for my cause, my

cleats. this really helps the sacramento native highlight his project that gives back to local students in need in the area. grey is a custom shoe designer who hand-paints shoes of all kinds and he says he was thrilled to have this opportunity. >> after they told me it was my cause, my cleats, it definitely blew my mind. it's like my shoe is going to be out there. so it was definitely great, just this whole thing is such a great experience. >> great experience, indeed. grey says he got a chance to meet with armstead. and he says he loves the fact that this nfl player knows and appreciates his hometown. >> that's right. we've all got to cheer each other on. as the excitement builds for the game this weekend, we love to see your fan photos. we love that you're sending them to us. like a sample of these right here. be sure to tag nbc bay area on facebook and twitter.

we'll keep sharing the photos on air. let's go for the big win on sunday. >> we know how to do it. bringing it home. >> now let's just win it. >> 6:17, we're going to bring the forecast home for you. vianey arana gets us through the morning with a cold start. >> it is cold. and the sunshine is eventually going to bump us into the upper 60s and some 70s as well down through southern california. the weather is going to be fantastic for football. right now current temps, we're waking up in the cold 30s. san jose 39 degrees, concord 35, in through santa rosa 44, 50 degrees right now in san francisco. one of our warmer spots. but i do want to take you through your fog and visibility, because for the most part, we're clear. no concerns there. a little bit of patchy fog up through santa rosa, but not significant, down to about 8 miles in visibility. forecasted highs for this afternoon, high clouds and upper 60s. look at san jose, 67 degrees,

concord 63. even san francisco will be in the mid-60s today. it's going to be a great day to visit the city. a quick look at your drought monitor. this gets released and updated every week and we haven't really seen any rain in january. so there's been no significant improvement. we're at about 66%, the state of california remains under a severe drought, a lot better than seeing all of the red prior to october and december's storms. but just in case you were wondering how dry we've been this january, so far it's been the driest january on record. san jose only seeing trace amounts. the previous driest record was set back in 2015. most cities will rank top ten driest ever recorded for this month. so what is our outlook looking like the next seven days for the first week of february? well, high pressure continues to dominate and we're not really looking good when it comes to the rain. we were monitoring the possibility of a system to our north. that's pretty much nonexistent at this point. we've got a system offshore

that's not going to bring us any rain either. the biggest impact will be winds picking up and then of course we've got offshore winds heading into the start of next weekend. look at san francisco's weekend forecast. low 60s for saturday, upper 50s for sunday and inland temperatures will be quite comfortable in the upper 60s, mid 60s by saturday and sunday. overnight lows, we pretty much stick to cold 30s overnight all weekend long. hopefully we'll get rain in february, but for now we stay pretty dry. mike, i'll send it over to you. how are the roads? >> looking pretty light right now. it's friday. i have a lot to point out in the north bay. let's look at the map. don't be alarmed. this is a look a ahead, if you travel through larkspur, the exit is closing from the northbound side tonight for an 11:00 construction crew and they'll be there overnight. looking at the north bay, highway 37 and contra costa county, your typical spots

showing your typical light friday traffic build. the rest of the bay shows a nice, smooth, easy drive. a quick look at freemont, not a major issue. the taillights heading south past tesla and toward milpitas. back to you. >> looks good. thanks, mike. next on "today in the bay," nbc bay area responds. >> today we have two cases, one for a couple grand and another for $0. but it's not for nothing. i'm consumer investigator chris chmura. nbc bay area responds next.

6:23 this morning. we're not even a month, at least a full month into the new year, and you know what, our consumer team already delivered some wins for viewers. >> consumer investigator chris chmura shows us some recent cases. >> let's start with a viewer in the north bay whose name we're not going to use. i'll explain why in a second. he said his new $3,000 wood floor started to self-destruct within a month of installation. luckily, the floor had a lifetime warranty. he expected the store to replace it or refund. they couldn't agree, so he called us. what happens next appears to have involved a nondisclosure agreement because the viewer said he could only say everything is resolved with his $3,100 complaint, after we got involved. we track every penny but it's not always about the money. lee in san jose asked for help stopping unwanted deliveries, newspapers. he does not subscribe to appear in his driveway almost every

day. lee contacted the publisher but the papers kept on coming. we contacted the publisher. a rep said the deliveries will now stop. go to nbcbayarea.com and click the responds option or call us, 888-966-tips. have a great weekend. live look at sfo. if you're watching a southwest flight soon, you may be able to get some booze while you board. the airline says it may start serving alcohol again this spring. like other airlines, southwest halted alcohol sales in 2020 to minimize interactions between staff and passengers. it was postponed because of a rise in unruly passengers and because of the federal mask mandate that runs through mid-march. coming up next, top stories we're following, including expanding covid vaccinations to the youngest children. >> omicron in particular has

disproportionately impacted even the little left kids. >> ahead our one-on-one with moderna's chief medical officer and the possible timeline for parents. plus -- >> reporter: the 49ers, one game away from the super bowl. how the rams plan to stop 49ers fans from attending sunday's games might have backfired. >> and we're just one week away from the winter games, and our own janelle wang is traveling to beijing to cover the games. first, she's stopping in l.a. for a very good reason. you can follow her journey on facebook and twitter. also ahead of the competition, we are telling the stories of how the athletes of team usa managed to arrive at the world's largest stage going for gold. make sure you tune in to our special "journey to the winter games" at 6:30 tomorrow night right here on nbc bay area. we'll be right back. 0,xq

♪ crossing through the mountains and seeing that long open landscape. it's big, it's wild, it's unknown. you know, one of the things we value while we are traveling, is it allows us to relate to each other differently, and bring us closer. as a family, you bring these little humans into the world.

and you only have so much time with them, you just got to use it well. than not going to the super bowl. >> right now at 6:30, everything on the line. can the 49ers beat the rams for the third time this season? ahead, we hear from top experts and past players on the team's odds. >> plus, could a fourth covid booster shot be on the way? we go one-on-one with moderna's chief medical officer to find out. this is "today in the bay." and it is friday morning. quickly approaching 6:30.

thanks for starting your morning with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. we're broadcasting not only on tv, but you can watch us live on roku, amazon fire, apple tv and online. >> everywhere. >> that's how we do it. first we want to get you started with a look at the forecast. >> the skies are clear, but it's also cold. so it's going to be a little chilly for the first couple hours of the day and then eventually we're going to get quite warm. 36 degrees right now in walnut creek. look at your temperature trend. another thing you'll notice in the icons, there's going to be clouds. we'll get high clouds at times, and through the afternoon temps will bump up into the 50s. by your lunch hour, 11:00, 12:00. concord also will see the upper 50s and we'll be topping out in the 60s for some of the interior valleys. we're talking all things 9ers this friday morning because we're just one game away from the super bowl. taking on the rams in sunday's

nfc championship game. "today in the bay's" bob redell is live outside the stadium this morning and the faithful will be in full force in los angeles, even though they tried to keep us out. >> reporter: right, you'll recall the rams initially did try to keep the 49ers fans from the nfc championship game that will be taking place at sofi stadium this sunday in los angeles. but that plan might have backfired. more on that in a second. first, the fact that the 9ers are going to the nfc championship game once seemed unlikely, considering their four straight losses early in the season. but under quarterback jimmy garoppolo and players like george kittle, eric armstead, fred warner, bosa, the team did come back and as underdogs beat the green bay packers last week. they've beaten the los angeles rams the last six games in a row. we spoke with 49ers insider that

told us, don't think the six-game winning streak against the rams means the 9ers have got sunday's game in the bag. >> it's tough for any team to beat another team twice in the season, let alone three times in a season, let alone seven times over a span of three years, especially a talented team like the rams. i into into this game just thinking, wherever the ball bounces. they're two evenly matched teams, the coaching staffs are very good and know each other well. i don't think what's happened in the past will have a huge impact on what happens on sunday in the nfc championship game. i think both teams go into the game feeling good about their chances. >> it certainly helps when you've won six in a row. i think it's mentally in the heads of the rams and the rams organization. so at this point i would much rather be the team that's won six in a row than the team that's lost six in a row. and a lot of those players are

the same. so i think it bodes well for us. >> reporter: that was former 49ers tight end brent jones. he played in three super bowls, seven nfc championship games. he understands the pressure the 9ers must feel as they go into sofi stadium on sunday. but there should be a lot of red and gold in the stands, like the last time the 9ers played there, which turned out to be a record crowd for sofi stadium to date. earlier this week the rams head coach tried to restrict ticket sales for fans outside of los angeles. the rams rescinded that. the "l.a. times" reports that the ticket sales site is estimating that 65% of tickets to this sunday's nfc championship game have gone to 49ers fans. reporting live here outside levi's stadium in santa clara, bob redell. >> i love it, bob. it's going to be a sea of red

out there. try to keep us away. thank you so much. brent jones has a lot more to say about sunday's game. you can find out who he picks to win. better not be the rams. watch the interview on our nbc bay area app and click on must-see playlist. if you don't have it, download our app for roku, apple tv and amazon fire. when the 9ers beat the rams, when the 9ers beat the rams, we are biased and proud of it, only in this arena, i should add, so the championship game, they'll play each other super bowl lvi right here on nbc bay area february 13th, no matter who it may be. >> can't wait for that to happen. 6:34, moderna saying that phase two trial is now under way for an omicron-specific booster, but that's not all. the company is working on a new two-for-one vaccine. i was able to have a one-on-one conversation with the company's chief medical officer to find out what they learned from the

omicron surge and a look at how long they might be dealing with booster shots. moderna's ceo said that some people may need a booster shot by this fall. this would be the fourth dose, so how long are you expecting people to continue to need those booster shots? >> we predict that there will be a need for a yearly booster shot to provide protection against death and hospitalization. now, i think the question is going to be, so what is in that booster? as i said, pragmatically i think for this year we need one that can cover omicron, delta probably as well, and we're working on that now. and then as we go forward, our aspiration, our ambition is to also put flu in there so that you would get a single vaccine that covers you, a one-stop shot against flu and covid. we'll start testing that late this year and hope to have that available for people in the fall of 2023. >> a lot of people don't

necessarily like getting those booster shots or shots in general. what we have seen from medical experts, they do talk about the booster shots and they have reduced hospitalizations during the omicron surge, but many people are still getting infected with the virus. what has moderna learned in this process when we've seen the omicron surge in order to improve that vaccine as we move forward? >> at least cases where people are dying or are being hospitalized really are occurring in people unvaccinated and unboosted. people need to be able to trust the vaccines and we need to get more education out, websites where people can get information, and then to be able to trust them and get vaccinated. that's really the major issue, if you're vaccinated and boosted, you're protected. >> a lot of parents have been thinking about, debating, i know moderna is working on a vaccine for kids ages 2 to 5.

what is the timeline for that vaccine that you can tell us about, as well as the impact that it may have on those participants? >> it's such an important point, marcus, because omicron in particular has disproportionately impacted even the littlest kids, the 2 to 5 year olds. a lot of them being hospitalized. we have a study that uses the 25 microgram dose of the moderna vaccine, typically adults get two shots of 100 micrograms. these kids would get two shots of 25 micrograms. we think the study should be complete probably in the coming weeks, by march. we'll get the data as quickly as we can, share them with the fda, regulators. if they're positive, i'm hopeful that it will get approved, because there is a big unmet need for the little guys. >> dr. paul burton, chief medical officer for moderna. i want to thank you for your

time. >> thank you. dr. burton and i spoke for a lot longer about many other issues, including what he thinks of those apprehensive of getting the booster shot due to the vaccine side effects. you can watch the full interview at nbcbayarea.com. a covid booster shot deadline is here for first responders in the north bay. we have a live look at marin county where firefighters and law enforcement officers must show proof that they received the booster. vaccination rates are already high among those departments. the agencies say anyone unvaccinated will have to continue to wear masks and undergo surveillance testing and other protective measures. let's head to san francisco. oh, look at that. coit tower still lit up, honoring our 49ers for the big playoff game this weekend. we're ready to cheer them on. across california, i think temperatures should be pretty nice. >> they're going to be really lovely. and that's the fantastic thing about them playing in so cal, they don't have to get used to

the weather because they're staying in california. if you are going to be watching the big game from home, it's going to be sunny here, a couple of high clouds. the temps in the 60s for san francisco, maybe you're going to be actually making that drive down to l.a. well, here's what we're expecting for the weekend forecast down there. 70s. look at that. a lot of sunshine for the big game on sunday, for tailgating the weather is going to be absolutely perfect. perhaps you're heading up to napa valley, temps in the mid-60s. overnight it's going to stay chilly in the 30s, friday, saturday and sunday you'll wake up to cold overnight lows. right now in lake tahoe, about 10 degrees. if you're going to be heading out to lake tahoe, expect fantastic weather as well, into saturday and sunday temps will be in the 40s. not expecting any snow up through lake tahoe or any rain locally. here's a closer look at your saturday. friday overall, 60s in the

forecast, really throughout the entire bay area. io yosemite, 60s and dry. >> trying to give folks a warning if they're starting out their weekend through san francisco, look at your map. an easy drive on the freeways right now, but thrive city, remember over at chase center, there's a lunar new year's celebration from 5:00 to 8:00 tonight. it's sold out so that may mean more crowds around that area just off the 280 extension. as we're looking at the rest of the bay, smooth flow of traffic. but at the bay bridge itself, the metering lights just turned on. we do have the rest of the bay to look at. typical slow spots through contra costa county, but anywhere south of oakland everything looks good on the east bay and the peninsula is still clear, of course. back to you. >> thanks, mike. 6:40 this morning.

all new, san francisco tradition for 90 years and counting, still ahead, a long-time mission district institution putting its chips all in when it comes to the big taste of history. >> reporter: some encouraging words from the russians over the crisis in ukraine. we'll take you out to the big board as well. trading is down. it's also light, as investors get out of new york city ahead of that historic mega storm.

time to check in with your toyota tahoe report. 55 groomed runs, 120 trails and 20 lifts open in the palisades/tahoe area. make sure to check for covid-19 guidelines before you head out the door. the weather will be perfect, temps in the 40s with sunshine and high clouds at times. i'll have a look at how the rest of your weekend is going to shape out and the workweek ahead coming up. >> and we're giving you a live look at the bay bridge. the metering lights don't show the backup at the toll plaza just yet, but it is slow heading up the incline. as you look at the berkeley curve, a little more crowded, but not a big problem. not a lot of slowing. we'll show you how things are shaping up because there may be another issue in the tri-valley, perhaps two, coming up. >> thank you. 6:44 right now and new this

morning, new troubles for the employment development department facing two major backlogs while trying to verify claims. during the pandemic fraudsters cheated the state out of at least $20 billion in bogus claims. more recently the edd froze some 300,000 suspicious disability accounts. now the chronicle is reporting that it's requiring at least 1 million self-employed californians to prove that they were entitled to the benefits they received. those who do not show proof may be required to pay that money back with a 30% penalty. diplomacy may be working to help diffuse the situation in ukraine. >> the russians are pointing to rational elements in america's plan. >> reporter: rational elements, that doesn't sound like much, but that is a direct quote from their foreign minister, sergey lavrov, our equivalent to the secretary of state. and when it comes to diplomacy,

you don't compliment the other side without it intending to mean something. that the russians are citing progress seems to be a good sign. the russians say vladimir putin has not yet made a decision on whether or not to invade, but of course he's not going to put that in writing. he's going to put that off as long as possible. because if he were to withdraw his troops, the crisis would be over and putin would lose the pressure he, himself, created trying to get the united states and its allies to change their policies in eastern europe. now, here at home, president biden repeated his promise to nominate a black woman to fill the vacancy created by our outgoing supreme court justice stephen breyer. during a brief appearance at the white house, breyer spoke of his love for the country and its constitution. >> this is a complicated country, more than 330 million people. it's every race, it's every religion, and it's every point

of view possible. and it's a kind of miracle, and you sit there and see all those people in front of you, people that are so different in what they think. and yet they've decided to help solve their major differences under law. >> reporter: the white house says vice president kamala harris will take a lead role in helping choose a name to nominate to the high court. some point out harris, herself, very well qualified legal mind, she could sit on the bench, but most political pundits say such a move would be very, very unlikely. others criticized the president for limiting himself by saying he'll only choose from black women, which sort of implies there are not a wealth of good candidates and, of course, there are clearly a wealth of good candidates. ronald reagan, remember, also promised to limit himself to his

pick to women and the very imminently qualified sandra day o'connor became the first woman to sit on the high court. well, it's friday, so how about something a little lighter this morning? after months of promising, the white house has adopted a cat. the first lady, dr. jill biden, first came across willow, the cat, at a campaign event. willow is reportedly settling in nicely. now, when the white house was going to follow up on its promise when it was to get a cat, that was a big deal at white house press conferences. press secretary jan psaki was asked about it constantly and our own craig melvin demanded answers because the american public deserved to know. >> there are rumors that the first family was considering adopting a cat. >> oh, yes, and that is true. can you confirm that? >> he's waiting in the wings. she is waiting in the wings. >> was this your idea, mr. president? >> no, but it's easy.

>> waiting in the wings no longer for willow. i like that the president wasn't even mic'd at that point. his opinion probably not the most important in this decision. we're talking about willow the cat on social media. you can follow me on twitter @scott mcgrew. >> now that major the dog is gone. new this morning, a classic san francisco restaurant known for its food items everywhere is one step closer to becoming a historical landmark. the kasa sanchez building on 24th street has been in the mission district for more than 50 years. you've probably eaten the chips and salsa. a lot of people call it the best in the bay area. now it is slated to become one of the city's first latino-owned properties to receive the status. supervisors passed the ordinance last night. mayor breed still has to give the final approval. >> get the chips and salsa ready. >> we're going to celebrate because the excitement is

building as we count down to the kickoff for sunday's big game. the 9ers are taking on the l.a. rams for a spot in the super bowl. >> we're getting in on the fun this morning, our rivals, or shall we say our friend at "today in l.a." are making a warj with us this morning. take a look. >> hello to our friends in the bay area. we've got a big game coming up, our rams, your 9ers. we're playing in l.a. and a spot for the super bowl is on the line. >> we're going to place some bets. >> before we place the bets, let's talk about this matchup. i know you guys are going to be bragging about your winning streak, but streaks are meant to be broken and we know in the big games it's the big stars who make the big plays and we've got aaron donald and we've got matthew stafford and we've got cooper kupp. >> what he said. and i have one question for our team and for you guys, who's house? ram's house. >> so come sunday, sofi stadium is going to be packed with blue and yellow. if your team manages to win,

we'll find some red and gold to wear on the air. that's not going to happen. we're going to see you wearing blue and yellow, too. >> we want to hear you say -- >> one more time. who's house? ram's house. good luck. you're going to need it. >> yeah, we're invading that house. >> i bet we are. let's get a look at the forecast for you. how is the weather going to look in that house? >> the weather is going to look good. i promise i'll wear a maroon dress on sunday when they play the big game. 49ers and the l.a. game is going to be fantastic. the weather will be in the 70s. kickoff is at about 3:30. perfect tailgating weather. you don't have to worry about rain or snow. san jose, beautiful shot. no fog in sight. current temperatures at about 40 degrees in san jose, 38 in livermore, 35 in concord,

oakland 48. fog and visibility not really an issue. we'll see clear skies through the afternoon. but you will get periods of high clouds as well. temperatures will be in the upper 60s. san jose 67, oakland 62, martinez 63, napa 65. i want to give you a look at your drought monitor update because this gets updated every week. we haven't seen any rain so no significant improvements this week. 66% of california still remains under a severe drought and a lot of moderate conditions as well. if you're wondering just how dry we've been, san jose, january rain, only trace amounts. going down as the driest january on record. the previous driest january ever was set back in 2015. by the end of this month, most cities will rank top ten driest ever recorded. so we're going to see what that's looking like over the next seven days. not looking good when it comes to rain chances. this high pressure has been

dominating, blocking any real chance of getting any rain. we had a system to our north that's pretty much made its exit. we've got a system offshore that's not going to impact us or bring us rain. it will likely pick up winds heading into next week. saturday and sunday, 60s for tomorrow for france, then notice on sunday and monday we cool off just a bit. great weekend ahead. let's get a check of the roads with mike. >> we have a problem, a couple of problems in the tri-valley. let's take you to the map. the arrow points southbound on 680 toward the dublin interchange. the crash should be on the shoulder, but you see slowing. at the bottom of the screen, this is the issue. south 680, just past the merge with 84, reports of someone out of a vehicle perhaps running around your left two lanes. so do be careful as you come toward the area. there may be a traffic break, at least a couple of lanes that are blocked heading south in that direction. we'll track that closely,

affecting the tri-valley. meanwhile, 880 moves smoothly without any problems, south bay pretty clear, just starting a little bit of a build for 101, and up toward san jose, typical spots through contra costa county. on the peninsula, palo alto shows 101 with an easy drive. back to you. >> thank you very much, mike. 6:54 right now. happening now, part of a park and ride lot in marin is closed over concerns about high tides. caltrans says half of the manzanita park and ride lot will be closed until february 2nd where highway 1 meets 101. that will be closed off entirely to try to prevent overnight parking. >> we'll have a look at the top stories, including loosening the rules. the bay area ready to reel in mask mandates and if other counties will follow suit. plus -- >> reporter: i'm kris sanchez with a strike deadline for west contra costa county, unified

school district students and teachers. we'll tell you what the teachers are demanding and how the district is responding. you're watching "today in the bay." .

welcome back. we are moving you forward with a look at the top stories on "today in the bay," including the covid crisis inching closer to impacting more classrooms. >> the clock is ticking down to

a possible strike vote in another bay area school district. "today in the bay's" kris sanchez joins us live to explain which families may soon feel the biggest impact. >> reporter: right now in the west contra costa unified school district, there are 35 cases of covid among students and three among staff members. a very different picture from what we saw earlier this month. however, we know that teachers are still willing to walk off the job today potentially over covid protections. here's what their union, the united teachers of richmond are demanding. they want high-quality masks for all, weekly testing for everybody and twice-weekly testing in classrooms where there have been positive cases. earlier the district closed for two days for deep cleaning, but now the majority of the teachers, nurses and staff say they are still ready to walk off the job. while the union and district have been negotiating, today is the deadline. we can tell you that earlier this month is superintendent did

say to the school community that teacher sick-outs will not be tolerated. we'll continue to follow the ongoing negotiations through the day as today is the deadline. back to you. san francisco will to dial back its masking rules beginning next tuesday. masks will no longer be required in offices, gyms, religious gatherings or college classrooms, but that is only if everyone is vaccinated, boosted, and the gathering is fewer than 100 people. religious and medical vaccine exemptions will be allowed for restaurants and bars, but people will need a recent negative covid test to enter. >> san francisco 49ers gearing up to go head-to-head with the l.a. rams on sunday. taking a live look at levi's stadium and coit tower in san francisco all lit up. 49er faithful hoping for that win that will send them to the super bowl. we're certainly rooting them on. >> make sure you keep sending us pictures, because we want to share those pictures of you in red and gold. tag us on those pictures on

facebook and instagram. that's @nbc bay area. here's a look at some of the fan photos that have already been sent. there they go. look at the lady in the corner on the right. >> have a great weekend. good morning, here it comes. alerts up and down the east coast as a potentially historic winter storm takes aim from the carolinas to maine 65 million people bracing for heavy snow and blizzard conditions throughout the weekend. up to two feet possible in new england. al's got everything we need to know full-court press president biden recommits to his promise of nominating the first black woman to the supreme court. >> it's long overdue >> straight ahead, the timeline he's laying out for making his choice